It all started with a radiator
by dolphinsir
Summary: My take on how Bob and Kim may have got together. Written after Season 2 episode 'Games of Chance.' Warning: character death.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I originally wrote this after I had seen the season 2 episode, _Games of Chance._ In it, Kim Brown comments that Bob 'stole her away from Ethan' with a radiator. This was my take on how that might have happened.**

**Disclaimer: the characters aren't mine, and are the property of Shawn Ryan and CBS. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Pulling over to the side of the road, Kim Harrington sighed in frustration and rested her head against the steering wheel. Her piece-of-junk car had given up the ghost, again. Thinking about it, she was amazed it had lasted this long after the last repair job, but she relied on her car – it was her only way of getting to her waitressing job. As a college student, she needed all the shifts, and extra money that went with them, that she could get. Glancing up, she could see small wafts of steam curling out from under the engine. Great, Kim thought. I don't know much about cars, but this looks bad. This is the last thing I need.

Relieved that she wasn't too far from home, Kim gathered her things, locked her car, and begun to walk. As she walked, her thoughts turned to trying to work out just how she was going to get her car repaired. If the problem was major, which she thought it might be, then Kim was certain that her finances wouldn't stretch to cover the costs of repairs. No car meant no transport. No transport meant no way of getting to work. Not getting to work meant getting fired. And that, Kim thought, was the last thing she needed right now.

It was times like these Kim really wished Ethan was still around. Her ex-boyfriend had ended their long term relationship without explanation when he'd finished his undergraduate degree and gone onto grad school in California a few months ago. They had met when Kim started college and Ethan was a senior. To Kim and many of their friends, their relationship had seemed pretty strong. Obviously, we were wrong, thought Kim wryly.

She was startled out of her thoughts when she collided suddenly with someone. Glancing up, Kim murmured

"Sorry, I wasn't looking…..oh, hi Bob" She'd run into Bob Brown. Kim knew the tall, well built soldier from the diner she worked at. They had had several conversations, which had lead to a friendship. A mutual friend had once told her that Bob was interested in her. Kim couldn't deny that Bob was handsome, but she had long ago decided she didn't want to date and/or marry a soldier (having grown up as an Army brat), plus she was dating Ethan at the time so nothing had eventuated beyond friendship.

"You look like you've got something on your mind" commented Bob, as he fell into step beside Kim.

"You could say that," Kim replied. "My car's died AGAIN and I think its pretty major this time. I rely on my car to get to work, and I just don't know how I'm going to afford the repairs."

Bob thought for a moment. "I can't promise anything, but what about if I had a look at it? I know a bit about cars, so maybe I can fix it. If not, I have some friends who can probably help you out. Do you want me to have a look at it now?"

"That would be wonderful," replied Kim.

A few hours later, things were looking decidedly up for Kim. Bob had looked at her car, and while he pronounced the damage serious – a busted radiator - he was confident that a friend of his could be of assistance. He'd also asked Kim out to dinner. Kim had initially been in two minds, but had accepted the invitation. Even though he was a soldier, Kim sensed after today that there was something different about him when compared to the other soldiers she had known. He genuinely seemed to care about people and wanted to try and make things right for them. "_Anyway_", thought Kim. "_It's just dinner. Nothing more._"


	2. Chapter 2

She had precisely fifteen minutes before Bob arrived to pick her up for their first date, and Kim was – there was no other word for it – frazzled. Her shift at the diner had run overtime, due to the next waitress being 45 minutes late. When the girl had raced in, muttering an excuse – Kim wasn't sure what, and quite frankly, couldn't care less – Kim had dashed out the door, and driven home as fast as her car would allow her – which wasn't fast. End result – she had fifteen minutes to get ready. _Why_, thought Kim, rolling her eyes, _does this only seem to happen to me_? 

Thirteen minutes later, she was making reasonable progress. Following the fastest shower in history, and a speedy makeup application, she had just stepped in front of her closest, when a sharp tap sounded on her front door. _Damn the Army_, thought Kim, _they drill punctuality in just a little too well_…. 

"Just a minute," she called out "I'll be right there." Her mind whirring at light speed, Kim grabbed the first things she came to – a black mid-length skirt and short sleeved red v-neck shirt – and pulled them on. Slipping her feet into a pair of low sandals, she ran to the door, opened the door, and felt her heart skip a beat. '_Wow, he sure does scrub up well out of uniform_,' Kim thought. Dressed in dark pants, and a greenish colour shirt that seemed to bring out his eyes, Bob smiled back at her. 

"You look beautiful Kim," he stated "Are you ready to go?" 

"Just let me grab my jacket and purse and I will be. Where are we going?" 

"That's a surprise, you'll just have to trust me." Taking Bob's proffered elbow, Kim knew that she could trust him. In the months she had known Bob, and particularly after he had helped her fix her radiator, she had come to believe that when Bob said something, he truly meant it. It made for a refreshing change from most of the men she had previously dated. 

Arriving at the restaurant, Kim was pleasantly surprised. Most of her previous dates had gone all out, taking her to swish, expensive restaurants, with food on the menu that Kim had never heard of before. Bob had, in a feat of apparent magic, brought them to Kim's favourite Italian restaurant, a place she tried to frequent at least once a week (time and finances permitting). 

Turning to Bob, Kim enquired, "How did you know this was my favourite restaurant?" With a sheepish smile, Bob replied, 

"I heard you telling one of the other girls at the diner one afternoon. The way you talked about it, well, it was pretty clear it was special to you." 

_'Wow'_thought Kim. _'I'm impressed.'_ As they walked into the restaurant, Kim begun to wonder about dismissing a relationship with Bob just because he was a soldier, maybe he would be different from the others. 

A few hours later, following a fabulous meal and intelligent, stimulating conversation, Kim and Bob stood on her front porch. 

"Thankyou for a lovely evening," said Kim. 

"Thankyou for agreeing to come with me. When I first asked you, I wasn't sure if you were going to say yes. What made you agree?" 

"I'm not sure to be honest, but I got a sense that there's something different about you, you seem to care about everyone you meet and genuinely want to help them," admitted Kim, surprised at confessing this on their first date. It was true though, right from the start of the evening, she had a sense of feeling safe and protected around Bob. "I would like to invite you in for coffee, but I've got an early class in the morning." 

"I should get going as well," answered Bob. Stepping closer to Kim, he bent down and gently kissed her on the lips. The kiss was sweet and tender, and Kim found herself embracing Bob, wrapping her arms around his neck. With seeming reluctance, Bob carefully disengaged himself. Smiling shyly, he said, "I'll call you," and returned to his car. Watching him drive away, Kim smiled to herself. She had gone into the evening with no expectations of what might happened, and had finished up wondering if there could be a future between the two of them. _'Yes_she thought, _there just might be.'_


	3. Chapter 3

Grateful for a few minutes peace and quiet, Kim shut the door of the small room, sat down, and took a deep breath. The last few months had been a whirlwind of preparations – church, minister, dress, reception, honeymoon…there had been times where Kim wanted to tear her hair out with the frustration, but, miraculously, everything had come together. In just a few short minutes, Kim Harrington would step through the door, and walk down the aisle to marry the man she loved, Bob Brown. 

Kim smiled to herself, as she thought of what, until now, had been a long-time mantra of hers – that she wouldn't marry a soldier. _Well, it just shows that love is a funny thing_she thought. If anyone could have been inside her head at that moment, they may have thought that Kim had doubts about marrying Bob. In reality, nothing was further from the truth. Kim knew in her heart that she could trust Bob with her life, that whatever she needed from him, he would do his utmost to provide. She knew that he would go to the ends of the earth for her, and that she would do the same for him. As for the matter of Bob being a soldier…..when they had announced they were getting married, Kim's mum had told her daughter, 'whatever will be, will be.' On hearing this, any lingering doubts Kim may have had about marrying Bob evaporated. She loved him. The rest would fall into place. 

At the sound of a knock at the door, Kim stood and opened it. On the other side stood her father, looking proud and regal in his suit. Looking at his daughter, his breath caught in his throat. "You look beautiful," he said, proffering his arm. "Are you ready?" Placing her arm through her father's arm, Kim smiled. 

"Yes," she said. "I am." 

Standing in front of the doors to the small church they were marrying in, Kim watched dazedly as her sister, as bridesmaid, opened the doors and begun down the aisle. A few seconds later, as the organist begun to play Pachabel's Canon, Kim and her father followed. Wanting to remember everything, Kim glanced to the left and right, noticing broad smiles on the faces of the guests. Glancing up at the altar, she was left momentarily breathless after spotting Bob. In his dress uniform, he had never looked so handsome to Kim. 

Reaching the altar, Kim's father kissed her gently on the cheek, clasped her hand briefly, and stepped back. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her mum wiping tears from her eyes, but at this moment, Kim only had eyes for Bob. Clasping Kim's hands tightly, Bob leaned in closely and whispered, "I am speechless….you look incredibly, unbelievably beautiful." Feeling like the luckiest woman on earth, Kim whispered back, 

"So do you." 

To Kim, it seemed like the ceremony passed in a blur. Readings, blessings, vows, their first kiss as husband and wife….it all seemed to happen in a few seconds. Turning with Bob to walk down the aisle as husband and wife, Kim felt indescribably overjoyed. At that moment, she knew that whatever happened, she and Bob would face it together. As a team. As husband and wife.


	4. Chapter 4

As she heard the alarm sound, Kim Brown rolled over, shut it off, and mentally sighed. Laying back in her bed for a moment, she wondered about her dreams from the previous night. She didn't often remember her dreams, but when she did, they tended to be particularly vivid, like when she had dreamed about that mission in the sub. Last night, though, she had been dreaming about Bob, which was a regular occurrence when he was away working. She had been dreaming, vividly, about significant moments in their life together – Bob fixing her car's radiator, their first date, their wedding…Kim was slightly troubled by the intensity of the dreams, but shrugged it off. As much as she wanted to, she knew that she couldn't lie daydreaming in bed any longer. At that exact moment, as if to prove her right, Serena came bounding into the bedroom and clambered onto the opposite side of the bed from Kim, where Bob would normally be. 

"Mummy, where's Daddy?" asked Serena. 

"He's at work, sweetheart, like I told you yesterday." 

"But when will he be home?" 

"Daddy will be home soon." 

"But WHEN?" Serena was growing increasingly whiny. Kim sighed as she pulled her daughter closer. It was at times like these, that she wished Bob was at home more. She knew that he loved his job, and she supported him unconditionally, but it would be nice to know occasionally just when she could expect her husband home. Pushing that thought aside, Kim smiled at her daughter. "Tell you what sweetheart. Why don't we go get your brother up and make some breakfast?" 

"OK Mummy." Serena bounded off the bed and raced off to Teddy's cot, with Kim following close behind. 

Following their usual breakfast, Kim dressed Teddy, helped Serena with this week's favourite clothes, and pulled on jeans and a bright red t-shirt herself. When Serena asked if she could play outside, Kim, glancing outside and seeing clear blue sky, agreed. Settling into a lawn chair with Teddy in her arms, Kim watched contentedly as Serena practiced skipping, and kicked a ball around. '_Life doesn't get much better than this_,' she thought. 

The low rumble of a car turning into the street caused Kim to glance up. Seeing that it was that black car, Kim thought, _'I wonder where they are going to today._' As the car approached her house, she could see that it was slowing down, as though the driver was searching for the correct house. Keeping one eye on Serena, and the other on the slow moving car, Kim felt her heart stop as the car slowly turned into her driveway. Kim spoke quickly to her daughter, "Come here sweetheart." Hearing the tone of her mother's voice, Serena came instantly. As she watched Colonel Ryan and the other men climb out of the car, it seemed to Kim as though the rest of the world around her had stopped moving. At that moment, all she could concentrate on was the feeling of her daughter's hand in hers, and the slow procession of the three men up her front path. Seeing Kim, Colonel Ryan stopped. 

"Mrs Brown," he stated. "Can we go inside please?" 

Standing and walking to let the men into her home, Kim could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces. The Colonel hadn't said anything apart from requesting to go inside, but Kim knew what he was about to say. He had been unable to meet her eyes, which could mean only one thing. Bob Brown, the man she loved with every fibre of her being, the man who cherished her and their children, and would go to the ends of the earth for them, wasn't coming home. Kim was no longer Kim Brown, wife to Bob Brown. She was now Kim Brown, widow.


End file.
